Why you should apply ‘the onion'

We know our gundogs are increasingly tempting to criminals, but what more can we do to keep them safe? Matt Cross investigates

- Matt Cross

It was a sobering experience. The grinder buzzed, sparks flew and in a few seconds the padlocks parted. A friend knocked on my door one morning. He had lost his workshop keys. He had started on one hardened steel lock with a hacksaw and after a lot of cutting had made a small groove in one of the three locks — did I have anything that would get the job done more quickly?

I fetched a battery-powered angle grinder and a metal cutting disc from my own shed. Being a law-abiding chap I had never cut a lock before and I doubted if this little 18-volt grinder would achieve much. It took less than five minutes to slice off every lock and to let him back into his workshop.

At home I looked at the unbranded padlock that secured my dog kennel. A tool available at every good DIY shop would have that kennel open in under a minute.

Dog theft is booming across the country and gundogs are a favoured target. Most gundogs are pretty good-natured; they are unlikely to sink their teeth into a potential thief. Their puppies are also much in demand as pets and with cockers currently being offered at £3,000 each, supply is clearly not keeping up. Crucially many gundogs live in outdoor kennels where they can much more easily be snatched than house dogs.

So I decided to look into the question of how best to keep my dogs safe. It has been law since 2016 that all dogs over the age of eight weeks must be microchipped, but do make sure the chip details are up to date.